Seal



Feb. 25, 1958 w. s. SHAHAN SEAL.

Filed April 26, 1954 I INVENTOR 3710 h a n ATTORNEYS United States Patent SEAL Wallace S. Shahan, San Marcos, Tex.

Application April 26, 1954, Serial No. 425,373

1 Claim. (Cl. 292-317) This invention relates to seals for containers or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a seal for containers, meters or the like which can be easily applied without the use of tools, and which is so constructed and arranged that it may be used two or more times.

Another object of this invention is to provide a seal which is simply made and which can be applied quickly, while at the same time forming an effective seal.

A further object of this invention is to provide a seal which is formed of a keeper housing, a bendable strap, and a locking element in the housing, the strap having one or more openings through which the locking element is adapted to project. If the strap has more than one opening, it may be used a second time by cutting off the strap near the first opening and reinserting the strap in the housing.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawing and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a seal constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the seal with a portion of the keeper removed.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral designates generally a keeper which is formed of a bottom wall 11, a top wall 12 opposite side walls 13 and an end wall 14. The side walls 13 have extending from the inner edges thereof flanges 15 which are secured as by soldering,'spot welding or the like to the bottom wall 11. The bottom wall 11 has extending therefrom and formed integrally therewith an elongated strap 16 which at its free end is formed with a pair of elongated openings 17 and 18. A strap locking member generally indicated at 19 is disposed within the keeper 10 and is formed of a resilient wire having one portion 20 thereof extended through upwardly struck transversely extending loops 21, and the end portion 20 with the loops 21 are then soldered or otherwise firmly secured together as at 22. The locking member 19 includes an upwardly and inwardly directed portion 23 which merges with a substantially horizontal portion 24, and the horizontal portion 24 has extending therefrom a V-shaped member 25 which substantially contacts with the inner side of the top wall 12 as shown in Figure 2.

The V-shaped locking member 25 has extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom a bar 26 which projects downwardly and rearwardly into an offset channel 27 which is struck outwardly from the bottom wall 11. The end of bar 26 terminates inwardly from the end of channel 27 so that when the strap 16 is extended through the open end 28 of keeper housing 10 and the V-shaped member 25 engages through the first opening 17, rearward or outward pull on strap 16 will cause the strap to move outwardly along locking member 19 until bar 26 is released from opening 17, whereupon bar 26 will assume the locking position shown in Figure 2 with the free or rear end thereof engaging the bottom of channel 27. At this time the strap 16 will be engaged with the obtusely angled bar portion 23.

After the seal has been used once, the seal may be reused a second time by cutting the strap 16 at substantially the transverse score line 29 indicated in Figure 5. The strap is cut or broken along the transverse line 29, and the strap may then be reinserted into the keeper housing 10 with the locking member 1.9 engaging through the second opening 18. The cut off portion of the strap 16 through which opening 17 is formed will remain on locking member 19 within the keeper housing 10. This seal will provide a simple and effective means for sealing meters, containers or other devices without requiring the use of a tool for locking the ends of the seal together; and at the same time, in the event the seal is broken by cutting off or breaking the strap 16 at the point 29, it will be possible to readily detect the fact that the seal was broken and then resealed.

What is claimed is:

A seal comprising a keeper housing having an end wall, side walls, and open at one end, and a bottom wall, the bottom wall having formed integrally therewith an elongated portion to form a strap, the strap at its end having a plurality of openings therethrough, the strap having a transverse score line between the openings, the strap adjacent the keeper housing having upwardly struck loop openings, a locking wire having one end extending longitudinally of the strap and through the loop openings, the other end of the wire extending upwardly and inwardly of the housing, the strap being bent midway of its length and having its end extending into the housing, the said wire extending through the opening nearest the end of the strap, said wire further extending in a V-bent portion and into the bottom of the housing, the bottom wall of the housing having a longitudinal channel formed therein, and the wire extends into this channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 687,693 Mead Nov. 26, 1901 1,147,529 Meadows July 20, 1915 2,200,149 Buell May 7, 1940 2,294,213 Schlage Aug. 25, 1942 2,508,660 Buell May 23, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,486 Great Britain Feb. 27, 1912 

